Whirlpool Corporation

Robert B Becker

Marcus Roland Fischer

Ryan D Schuchart

Christopher R McElvain

Christopher R Mcelvain

A refrigerator includes a cabinet defining an interior volume and a door for accessing the interior volume. An ice maker is disposed within the interior volume harvesting ice. The ice maker includes a frame and a motor. An ice tray includes a first end engaged with the motor, a second end engaged to the frame and a plurality ice wells defined by a plurality of weirs including first and second sets of weirs positioned proximate the first and second ends respectively, and interior weirs positioned therebetween. Each of the first and second sets of weirs and the internal weirs include a passage bifurcating each weir into first and second weir portions. Each of the passages defined by the first and second sets of weirs have a cross-sectional area that is greater than a cross-sectional area of any one of the passages defined by the internal weirs.

Method and apparatus for increasing rate of ice production in an automatic ice maker

An appliance door includes an outer wrapper and an inner liner that defines an ice making receptacle. An ice maker is disposed proximate a top portion of the ice making receptacle. A sliding assembly is defined within an inward-facing surface of the ice making receptacle. An ice bin is operable between an engaged state, wherein the ice bin is fully inserted into the ice making receptacle, a disengaged state, wherein the ice bin is removed from the ice making receptacle, and a lateral sliding state, wherein the ice bin is operated laterally and free of rotation between the engaged and disengaged states. The ice bin and the ice making receptacle cooperatively define an ice delivery mechanism that selectively delivers ice pieces from an inner volume of the ice bin to an ice delivery zone proximate the outer wrapper.

Growing community of inventors

Stevensville, MI, United States of America

Robert B Becker